Section 5 : What the Treaty means today - Questions and activities

5a. What Difference has the Treaty of Waitangi Made?

  • What do you think might have happened if there had not been a treaty between Māori and the British Queen when the settlers started to arrive?
  • What do you think Aotearoa-New Zealand might be like today if there had not been a treaty?

5b. Shared Decision-making

Na Ans Westra

Step 1

  • Divide into groups of three
  • Your group decides what your group and one of the other groups is going to do at morning interval.
  • Write down on a piece of paper what you have decided your group and the other group will do and give it to the other group.
  • How do you feel about what the other group decided you will do at interval? Do the other two people in your group feel the same as you?

Step 2

  • Repeat the exercise. This time, discuss with the other group what they would like to do at interval before you make a decision.

Step 3

  • Explain how you felt at the end of step 1 and at the end of step 2.

5c. How to Put Right the Wrongs

Role Play

The Government has agreed with a claim by a particular iwi that the iwi land was wrongly taken.

Step 1

  • Divide into three groups:
    • the Government;
    • the iwi;
    • and non-Māori currently living on land that the Government agrees was wrongly taken from Māori. The Māori claim is not against this group. The claim is against the Government who made laws that allowed the land to be taken.

Step 2

  • Talk in your group about what the land means to you.
  • Talk about ways that the problem could be solved that would suit your group and that you think the other groups would agree with.
  • Decide on a group spokesperson.

Step 3

  • The Government group will talk with the iwi group.
  • The group spokesperson will talk first to explain what the land means to the group and how the group thinks the problem could be solved.
  • Then other group members may talk.
  • Your task as a group member is to avoid arguments and try to find a solution. This involves listening very hard to what the other group has to say.
  • The non-Māori group watches the discussion.

Step 4

If the Government and Māori agreed to a solution, after hearing the discussion the non-Māori group can:

  • report to the Government that it is happy with the solution reached; or
  • report to the Government that it is not happy with the solution; and
  • request a meeting with the Government; or
  • request a meeting with the iwi group; or
  • request a meeting with both the Government and the iwi, together or separately.

If the Government and Māori have not agreed to a solution, after hearing the discussion the non-Māori group can:

  • request a meeting with the Government; or
  • request a meeting with the iwi group; or
  • request a meeting with both the Government and the iwi group, together or separately.

See if you can find a solution. You may have to compromise.

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